No-one likes general adverts, and ours hadn't been updated for ages, so we're having a clear-out and a change round to make the new ones useful to you. These new adverts bring in a small amount to help pay for the board and keep it free for you to use, so please do use them whenever you can, Let our links help you find great books on glass or a new piece for your collection. Thank you for supporting the Board.

Today I came across a Hovmantorp decanter and a Arabia/Nuutajarvi Silja serving bowl. I can't find any info about Hovmantorp other than that they were a Swedish company. Did they merge at some point with Oreffors? Any references would be great. As for Arabia Silja I gather the line was designed by Heikki Orvola but I'm not sure when and if it was for Arabia or Nuutajarvi prior to the merger? Any info would be great.

Hovmantorp is a hard company to find out about. I presume it's named after the town in which it's situated. I've seen Mantorp suggested as another name for the company but that's another town in Sweden. The three designers I've seen with a connection to Hovmantorp are Rune Strand, Elsa Soderberg, and Signe Person-Melin. The latest date I've seen for Hovmantorp is 1978, but I've never seen suggestion it became a part of another company, such as Orrefors.

All the reference to Silja have been for pieces appearing in North America. I had a look at http://www.laatutavara.com/ which is an excellent sit selling Finnish glass. Although there was a fair bit of glass by Orvola for sale there, there was no Silja. You might also want to check www.designlasi.com/ which is a great site of Finnish glass.

Thank you for the prompt and informative reply. Of the Hovmantorp designers you mentioned I'm familiar with Rune Strand's work for SEA Glas but again I thought that firm was a subsidiary of a larger maker. Perhaps I'll post a picture of the decanter. As for the Silja to me it bears a passing similarity to Oiva Toikka's Fauna/Flora pieces but clearly much less detailed and I assume much easier to manufacture.

Sea Glasbruk was located in Orrefors, the town. It became part of the Orrefors/Kosta/Boda conglomerate eventually.

I Googled Silja and it came up as the name of a ferry company in Scandinavia. I wonder if the decanter is a ship's decanter for them. It's worth having a look at the Laatutavura site to see if you recognize it there.

There is info on the many (often small) Swedish glassworks to be found, but a working knowledge of Scandinavian languages is usually required, I’m afraid. As for Hovmantorps Glasbruk (or glassworks), it was for many years one of four small glassworks in the town of Hovmantorp, Sweden. Established 1905 as Hovmantorps Nya Glasbruk (nya = new), it was built on the remains of an earlier glassworks which operated from 1860 until it burned down in 1878. Hovmantorp production reached its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Known particularly for its own technique of spray painting on glass, developed by Frantz Müller. Other designers include Carl J. Alexandersson, Hans Owe Sandeberg, Barbro Reyde-Sandeberg, Signe Persson-Melin, Elsa Söderberg and Rune Strand. The company did not merge with others, but went bankrupt and disappeared altogether in 1977.

Again, thanks to you both for the additional information. I did check the Laatutavura site for any Silja pieces before posting but found nothing. David's comment that distribution was limited to N.A. may explain why.

Ivo is correct, of course, about Sea being in Kosta, not Orrefors. My mistake.

Ivo, I noticed that your link says that Sea is part of the Sagaform group, and yet the Orrefors web site still says that Sea is a subsidiary of Orrrefors Kosta Boda, as you have it in your book. Do you know if Sagaform is a recent development?

Back to Silja: designed by Heikki Orvola 1975, and in production until 1978. Glass by Nuutajärvi/Notsjö was marketed under the brand name Arabia 1971-78, so some confusion is bound to occur here. Nuutajärvi/Notsjö merged with Iittala in 1988. The Silja design has nothing to do with the Silja ferry line; Silja is a Scandinavian girl’s name.